A Visionless Future
by VeneficaMelody
Summary: Written in the style of a voiceover. In Crystal Tokyo, Setsuna make a sacrifice of her sight for the good of the earth.


**Author's Notes**: In the beginning, I had planned on writing a story about Setsuna of the present seeing through the Time Gate that a possible future had her going blind after a youma attack. But, as will sometimes happen, the story didn't come out quite as I had planned it. In fact, the only things similiar are the parts where Setsuna is blind! Anyway, I hope that it's still a worthwhile piece of fanfiction.

I'm not sure yet if I'm going to turn it into a chaptered story. Perhaps someday I'll get around to it, but for now, this story will be catalogued as "Complete" and if the mood strikes again, I'll dust it off and continue the story of a sightless Sailor Pluto.

"**_A Visionless Future_**"

The year was 3048. Neo-Queen Serenity had been on her throne since the beginning of the century, and ruled placidly with her husband at her side. The Senshi remained staunch guardians and allies, never defecting from the side of their princess. The city was glittering, made completely of crystal.

No one could believe that there was absolutely no crime in Tokyo, but the Ginzuishou was the cause for this. It was wired into the main database of Mercury's mega-sized computer that was in the basement level of the palace. It was with these combined powers that the city was completely safe, defended from any threats, within or without.

The Senshi had at first been afraid of the Ginzuishou not being in Serenity's possession, but eventually it was decided that it was for the better good if it went to protecting the city. For the Ginzuishou to be connected both to Serenity and Mercury's computer, it had taken a sacrifice from one of the Senshi.

None of the girls had known who should make the sacrifice -- they didn't even know what the sacrifice would be! Eventually, one Senshi stepped up to volunteer, because she believed she had the least to sacrifice. Serenity had attempted to make the guardians forget about the idea of melding the Ginzuishou's power with that of the main computer, but after they had realized the ingenuity of such an idea, they'd been hooked.

Sailor Pluto had volunteered herself, knowing that she had the least of all of them that could be taken away. As the power had coursed through her veins, she had understood why something was meant to be sacrificed. The Ginzuishou wasn't merely a jewel of power, it was Serenity's birthright. An ancient gem full of the spirits of the past queens, and their combined powers. For it to be separated from the queen and tied to a machine was one of the most horrendous acts of its history.

What was the cost of progress?

Darkness. Setsuna had learned quickly that she would be sacrificing her vision for the sake of the city's safety. No one had ever thought of the consequences of a blind Senshi, but it was decided, after much effort, that Sailor Pluto's destiny was to guard the Time Gate, and you didn't really need to be able to see to do that.

Outsiders might say that the other Senshi are callous in their treatment of their newly blinded colleague, but others would realize that they must be this way. Hardened by years of battle and calloused by the winds of change, the Senshi know that it is better to sacrifice one's sight than to leave the world defenseless. It might be stretching the ranks a bit for the Senshi to take care of all the problems of Earth, but at least with the Ginzuishou they are possessive of an early alert system.

In the mists of Time, Sailor Pluto found herself wandering as a lost soul, unmoored to either side of the Time Gate after her loss of sight. It took seven years and an encounter with a blind man to help her to see the potential of herself. But even after Sailor Pluto knew who she was as a person without being able to see, she felt herself at a distinct disadvantage.

The Garnet Rod was still Sailor Pluto's most treasured asset, even more so now that she used it to "see" where she was going. Regular visits were made to Sailor Mercury to make sure that there were no problems lurking with her ears. She would be completely defenseless if she were to lose her hearing, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs.

A world of darkness had become Setsuna's sanctuary, and although she still remained at Serenity's command, the Senshi of Time considered herself to be fairly useless. How to use the blindness to her advantage? After much searching, Setsuna managed to find a teacher to train her in the pratice of martial arts for the blind. It was still a fledgling art, like many for the "handicapped", and Setsuna had to tweak it a bit to make it suitable for her needs.

A guardian was useless to Serenity without her vision, and Setsuna knew it. She worked tirelessly to master the art she dubbed "Fight Without Sight," even able to joke about the loss of her ability to see. Few people around the world had taken up her style but Setsuna had no complaint that many wouldn't understand the style. It was a complex style, depending mainly on your senses of hearing and scent. Sight was of little use in the art, and the way Setsuna had adjusted it, being able to see would put you at a distinct disadvantage when trying to fight using the FWS style.

One of the first questions that had been posed when the subject of a sacrifice had been brought up was simple. Why? Why did there have to be a sacrifice for the Ginzuishou to be connected with the Mercury computer and outside of Serenity's possession? It had a murky history, but everyone could agree on one thing. A sacrifice was necessary because the Ginzuishou was connected to Serenity's soul. If she attempted to break away from it, she would die -- it was like she was pulling away from her own heart. The only way to counteract the process was for one of her sworn guardians to sacrifice a part of themselves during the actions of the Ginzuishou separating itself from Serenity.

Setsuna knew something that the others weren't aware of: the Ginzuishou was sentinent. It knew everything that had happened to it, and it was conscious of Serenity's decision to separate herself from the jewel. The gem had latched itself onto a part of Setsuna's soul, and she couldn't shake off its hold. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to, because it was that little voice that whispered in the back of her mind that everything was going to be all right. The blindness was a small price to pay for the new areas of her life that had been opened up. How many other people could say that they saw things so clearly, without seeing anything at all?

Not knowing any blind people except for the man who had helped her cope with what had been taken away, Setsuna knew little of how others like her interacted with the world. She didn't know if they, too, had the teeny voice that reassured them each moment. That bright light in the back of their minds; like a comforting hug from a cherished mother. Was it merely the influence of the Ginzuishou, or did everyone experience something similiar when they lacked one of their major senses? She didn't like to dwell on the thoughts, instead guarding the Time Stream the way she'd always done. Nothing would change, and Setsuna knew it.


End file.
